Battery cable clamp



Dec. 4, 1951 P H, PRQFF 2,577,714

BATTERY CABLE CLAMP Filed Sept. '7, 1948 INVENTOR.

Phi" H. PFOH 5a 20 f p v ,9

- BY 4 2 (2kg; b I ATTQRNEk} Patented Dec. 4, 1951 Philip H. P'roff, August executor of said- Phil signer, by direct an ninety-five per cent and Margaret M. Sohinitz,

Olympia,

Wash., and five per cent Chateau, Mont.

ip H. Pros, deceased,- asd nie's'ne assignments, of to Harold Phillip Proff,

Seattle, to Leo H. Murphy,-

A'pplic'ation September 7, 194 8 seriaiNo=.418,'043

' 2.- Glaims. (01. 1736259) 1 This. invention relates to new and useful improizements clamps, and more particularly to wet-storage battery.cable clamps.

.Heretofore, most storage-battery cable clampsmcommon 'usesconsistot U-sh'apled body portions "which are 'fitted around the battery posts, and {simple fastening meansc'ons'istingoi an ordinary and bolt for-each: body portion.- It is a well known fact that eab'la'cl'ampsof this design are extremely difficult to remove from the battery posts zespeciallywwhen the" action of the battery acids; has caused them to corrode.- Frequently, the removal ofthis type or clamp requires the employmentof several tools, and only by consid- -.era.bl e"prying.rand hammering can the clamp be removed. oftentimes, such operations result in consequent damage to the battery post or cable clamp: i

Improvements: on this original design been attempted, but have been, in general, relatively unsuccessful. These improved designs haveincorporated numerous parts, requiring-considerable machinery operations or complicated molds, resulting 'in'consequent high cost of product-ion. Furthermore, thesedesigns are rendered unsatisfactory in many instances by their numbe!" of threaded members which, when they become corroded, bind during operation.

The principal object of this invention is to provideia battery cableclamp, which employs a minimum number of threaded parts, and which can easily bev removedafrcm thebatterypost bythe use of only one tool, even under conditions of severe corrosion. 1

Another object is to provide a battery cable clamp; which is" composed of few parts; made .irom-stocl: materials, and which is consequently manufactured cheaply and easily.

A further object is to provide .a battery cable ciamn. wh s pa ar asily adapted t mo conventional U-shaped battery cable clamp body designs. 7

Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the annexed drawing which, by way of a preferred example'only, illustrates one embodiment of the invention and wherein:

iii

have 7 "means thrust collar f6.-

clamp on a reduced scale showing its constitueat elements.

general my battery cable clamp comprises a substantially U-shaped body 5, provided with opening 6 adapted to fit the conventional storage battery post 1, and having a pair of widened ar s provided with free end portions or arrest and 8 a fastening means 9, preferably ineludinga standard bolt ill and a nut l l'; retaining means I! preferably in the form of an em lol'at'sirig F4 preferably comprising a pin l5,and a The may '5 ispi'ovided with a neck portion-17 designed to accommodate an end portion of 'a standard battery cable 18 in any conventional manner. The body 5 is made of any suitable material such as lead, having sufficient resiliency,

so that the widened end portions 8 and 8 are capable of, converginga'nd diverging movement, or in other words to be spread apart or drawn toward each-other, without likelihood of fracture.

The widened end portions 8 andB are'provided with transversely, extending apertures I9 and 20,

respectively, which are relatiyely coaxial with the clamp; in closed'position as in'Fig. 1; The apertures I 9 and 20 accommodate the shank 31' of "the bolt. l'fls'and have diameters sufficiently greater than the shank diameter, so that the bolt may freely move longitudinally relative to the axes of the apertures, when a converging or divergfihglmove n'ent is imparted to the widened end portions 8 and'8 Thus, as's'hown in Fig. 2; binding action between the bolt Hi and the exterior and interior "edges 2| and 2.2, respectively, of aperture l9, and the similar edges 23 and 24 of aperture 20 is rendered negligible.

The widened end portion 8 is provided with an exterior face 25, which is substantially parallel to its innertiace 26. The end portion 8? is similarly" prov-lded with faces 2'! and 28; ,When the endpo'rtionst andB are'in their closed position, as'sliown 'ih" Fig. '1, thefa'cesinoneend portion are in substantially parallel relationship to the faces of the other end portion.

The bolt I!) of the fastening means 9 is preferably a standard bolt, having threads 29 at its Fig. 1 is a plan view of the clamp showing the clamp in closed position. 7

-Fig. 2 is a plan view of the clamp in partial section along the longitudinal axis of the bolt,

and showing the clamp in open position.

Fig. 3 is an edge view of the clamp showing it mounted on the post of a storage battery.

Fig; 4 is an exploded perspective view of the spaced from the bolt head 32 one end, and is coextensive with the apertures 19 and 2t. The bolt H1 is provided with a nut II at its end which is contiguous with the exterior face 28 of end portion 8 The bolt is further provided with a hole at which etxends transversely thru the shank 3| of the bolt, and is at a distance slightly greater than the thickness of'the end portion '8.

sleeve or hollow member l3; and a thrust I The embracing sleeve I3 of the retaining means I2 may be cut from any suitable rectangular tubular material or made from sheet metal stock, and seam-welded together. The sleeve I3 is provided with openings 33 and 34 arranged, so that the bolt shank 3| is coextensive with the openings when the sleeve is in embracing relationship with the nut II and the end portion 8 The pin I of the thrust means I4 is preferably a standard cotter pin, and is located by means of a driving fit within the hole of bolt I 0. The thrust collar I6 is preferably a standard washer and is disposed intermediate the pin I5 and the interior face 26 of the end portion 8.

To locate the clamp on the post of a storage battery, the clamp is placed over the battery post so that the post I is disposed within the opening 6 of the body 5, as shown in Fig. 3. The bolt head 32 is then rotated in a clockwise direction, to tighten the clamp, which brings the bolt head 32 into forceful contact with the exterior face 25 of the end portion 8, and the nut II similarly contacts the exterior face 28 of the other end portion. The end portions are thereby given a converging movement until the battery post is securely engaged by the clamp.

To remove the clamp from the battery post, the bolt head 32 is rotated in the opposite direction which brings the thrust means I4 into forceful contact with the interior face of the end portion 8, and simultaneously brings the outer face of the nut II, into forceful contact with the interior end face of embracing sleeve I3, abutting said outer face of nut II, thereby causing forceful contact of the opposite interior end face of embracing sleeve I3 with the interior face 21 of end portion 8 The end portions are, thereby, given a diverging movement until any corrosive film formed on the battery post is severed, at which time the clamp is easily removed from the post.

During both the converging and diverging movements of the end portions, the nut I I is prevented from any material rotation by means of the retaining means I2, and therefore a rotation of the bolt I0 alone is required to effect operation. Consequently, the use of only one wrench or other suitable tool is required. The operation is, thus rendered simply, rapidly, but yet effectively.

It should be pointed out that the retaining 'means I2 and the thrust means I4 may be easily adapted for use with most of the conventional battery clamps on the market.

I claim:

1. In combination with a battery cable clamp including a body having a bight and two apertured arms normally diverging from said bight, and a bolt and nut for said arms, protecting and retaining means for said nut including a hollow member having two confronting substantially parallel end Walls, each having a perforation with the perforations substantially aligning and of a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the shank of said bolt, a side wall joining the end walls and a side wall portion opposite said side wall, the shortest distance between the confronting faces of said end walls being slightly greater than the combined thickness of said nut and the free end portion of one of said arms in contact with said nut and the shortest distance between the inner faces of said side wall and side wall portion being very slightly greater than the shortest distance between said opposite faces, one of said end walls being in contact with the inner face of said one of said arms, and said nut section and free end portion being within said hollow member; and an abutment extending outwardly from said shank closely adjacent and overlaying a portion of the inner face of said other of said arms. a

2. In combination with a battery cable clamp including a body having a bight and two apertured arms normally diverging from said bight, and a bolt and nut for said arms, retaining means for said nut including a hollow member having two confronting substantially parallel end walls, each having a perforation with the perforations substantially aligning and of a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the shank of said bolt, a side wall joining the end walls and a side wall portion opposite said side wall, the shortest distance between the confronting faces of said end walls being slightly greater than the combined thickness of said nut and the free end portion of one of said arms in contact with the nut and the shortest distance between the inner faces of said side wall and side wall portion being very slightly greater than the shortest distance between said opposite faces, one of said end walls being in good frictional contact with the inner face of said one of said arms, and said nut and free end portion being Within said hollow member, with said free end portion being in goodfrictional contact with said hollow member at the upper and lower faces of said free end portion; and an abutment extending outwardly from said shank section closelyadjacent and overlaying the inner face of said other of said arms.

PHILIP H. PROFF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,650,064 Dennis Nov. 22, 1927 1,699,925 Schmidt Jan. 22, 1929 1,820,611 Goldman Aug. 25, 1931 1,841,371 Hughes Jan. 19, 1932 2,040,817 Auiner May 19, 1936 2,154,507 Hunefeld Apr. 18, 1939 2,287,490 Tenney June 23, 1942 2,462,660 Moore Feb. 22, 1949 

